Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Cause of Sexual Miscontuct!

In the Hell of Feng-du, Living Buddha Sheng-yen Lu saw the horrendous amounts of karmic transgressions committed by humans—they were as tall as a mountain and as deep as the sea. The evils committed by men—murders, kidnappings, robbery, arson, theft, etc.--are numerous, but the one evil that tops these in prevalence is sexual misconduct. Human beings commit sexual misconducts casually and frequently.

Karmic effects include the following:1. Retribution upon one’s wife and daughters 2. Loss of fame and reputation 3. Punishment upon one’s descendents 4. Loss of fortune 5. Decrease in rank 6. Shortened lifespan 7. Punishment in the realm of hells 8. Descent into the hell, hungry ghosts, and animal realms

According to the teachings of karma and transmigrations:

People who rape others’ wives or daughters will suffer five hundred kalpas in the Hell of Feng-du before attaining rebirth. They will then be reborn as animals, such as donkeys, horses, or cows, for another five hundred kalpas before attaining rebirth as humans. When they recapture their human bodies, they often become prostitutes.

People who rape widows, nuns, or spiritual practitioners will suffer eight hundred kalpas in the Hell of Feng-du before attaining rebirth. They will then be reborn as sheep and pigs to be slaughtered by humans. After eight hundred kalpas in the animal realm, they can then re-attain human birth. However, they will not be born in high or noble form, but as a blind, a mute, or with other deformities.

People who commit incest - such as father with daughter, mother with son, or one sibling with another, and people who break the ethics - such as an old person with a young person, man with man, or woman with woman - will suffer fifteen hundred kalpas in the realms of hell before attaining rebirth. They will then be reborn as snakes or rats. Only after another fifteen hundred kalpas can they recover human births. The recovered human lives are not very long, and they will die either in gestation or infancy and not be able to enjoy old age.

Also, those who fabricate pornographic materials that debauch and corrupt others’ minds will suffer even more severely. After dying, they will descend to the Interminable Hell from where it is quite difficult to be released. Only when all the pornographic materials produced by one have disappeared, can one depart.

As stated earlier, the harms produced by pornographic materials are incalculable. A woman from a good family can, through a chance meeting with such materials, become seduced and be unable to suppress the fire of lust thus aroused. A virtuous woman may become loose and wanton. These materials may fan the fires and lusts of a young man or woman who may then become addicted to the habit of masturbation. When young people over-indulge in masturbation, their physical health also suffers. The harm done is relatively minor when purveyors of such material hurt only themselves. But, when they start involving and ruining others’ ethics and lives, the negative results will be magnified. According to Living Buddha Sheng-yen Lu, pornographic materials create and result in endless karmic hindrances.

Sheng-yen Lu the Living Buddha aware that, within the ocean of karma, sexual desires are the most difficult to extinguish. Desires for “money, fame, food, and sleep” are hard to control, but the desire for sex is the most difficult to handle. In this world of samsara, where there are frequent interactions between men and women, temptations for sexual misconduct abound.

He have seen heroes with great accomplishments succumb to sexual temptations and stoop to bestiality. Some very fine and talented people, aroused by lust, have fallen and ruined their reputations. From ancient times until now, such transgressions have befallen men from all walks of life, the holy and foolish alike.

The modern world of today is even more challenging than the past. Consumed by the winds of lust and influenced by numerous sex industries, young, middle-aged, and even old people harbor frivolous and unrestrained thoughts. The moral principles once honored in the past are no longer held in the same regard. Hedonism and sexual innuendos have become socially acceptable, and today’s society constantly bombards one with a barrage of sexual images. When mind and reason become subordinate to body and passion, it is easy for one to fall, becoming a denizen of the bitter hells of suffering. One should know that the retribution for licentiousness and sexual misconduct is severe!

As practitioners, we must look past the illusions of physical beauty and realize that “form is emptiness.” Under the rosy and powdered skin are bones, blood, flesh, and foul-smelling excrement.

Be very careful and beware of making a slip! One must break through the delusions to return to the path of realization.

Amid the endless seas of karmic transgressions, hindrances of sexual desire are among the hardest to remove.

ps. before you commit adultery, or indulge in that few minute pleasure, think 1000times!!! Think about how the karmic retribution will affect your career, wealth and personal well-being. And we're not even talking about next life, we're talking about this life! There have been stories of how one's good destiny are being changed because of just one sexual misconduct!